I don’t tweet or tumbl or any of that stuff, so I don’t really have a place to put this besides here. Nor can I contact websites like Animal Liberation Frontline or NAALPO due to my legal issues. But this ridiculous article about how we need to do away with ALF supporters has been heavy on my mind. So I thought I would share my thoughts. Feel free to share on your social media outlets if you feel inspired to:

While I share in the anonymous author’s desire to see more action and less talk, the arguments laid out in their article are tragically flawed, dangerous, and counterproductive (and somewhat laughable as it is being posted on blogs and all things social media, thus creating just the opposite affect of the original argument). I have spent awhile thinking about and being angered over the article and how best to respond. Ultimately, my own personal story, which I think is fairly commonplace for a lot of us, was the best rebuttal:

I think my story is pretty typical for anyone coming up in the mid 90′s. I moved to the Northwest in 1995 when I was 19. I quickly became vegan and interested in politics. I didn’t know any other activists or even vegans at the time. However, I found myself captivated by hardcore and punk music, and zines that espoused the lifestyle. I would go to places like Fallout Records and dig through the dusty box they had in the corner, full of old magazines. Here I would find old Sea Shepherd journals and issues of The Underground (the ALF Supporters Group newsletter). I would go to hardcore shows and pick up literature at tables. I spent hours in used bookstores digging through the history sections for books on radical activism. I would spend days pouring over these materials, reading and rereading them, and dreaming and scheming.

Eventually I would find my way into my local animal rights group. I worked with the Northwest Animal Rights Network in Seattle that was a mix of the greatest group of people. Our tight-knit core group of 10 or so had retired naval lawyers in their 70s down to punk rock teens with mohawks. But the one thing we all had in common was that we unabashedly supported the ALF. One of the first demonstrations I ever went to was an ALF support demo after a local Honey Bee Ham restaurant had its windows smashed in. Myself and a friend started passing out information on animal rights and animal liberation at the local hardcore shows. We would be doing tables upwards of 3-4 times a week. There wasn’t much in the way of ALF support merchandise at the time, so we screened pro-ALF shirts and hoodies we got from the thrift store and sold them to cover the costs of photocopies. While I certainly don’t attribute it entirely or even remotely to the two of us, there was definitely a genuine feeling of support for direct action and the ALF within the community.

Over the next several years I would redirect my focus from simple protests to civil disobedience, to direct action in the form of whale hunt sabs off the coast of Washington, to helping get the SHAC USA office off the ground and working on the anti-HLS campaign for 5 years. During that time I also worked on and helped start some of the biggest and most important direct action support magazines of those times. Those magazines would help build, among other things, community support for imprisoned activists around the world. That support would come in many forms, including leaflets and magazines, t shirts, videos, benefits, and support funds. Eventually myself and 5 friends would be found guilty in the SHAC 7 trial. I would be sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, partly because we chose to publicly share ideas. Controversial ideas, like supporting direct action and the ALF.

All of this started with zines I found in a box in the corner of a record store. It led to high-fives with friends, wearing black shirts and taking goofy pictures with disposable cameras at hardcore shows (that’s what we did before Instagram). I started out as a kid listening to music and reading propaganda. I never was a press officer, or a convicted (or not convicted) operative, nor am I disabled. But I think I’ve accomplished some really exciting things in my 17 years as an activist – from getting fur out of major retailers in Seattle, to using direct action to stop the killing of whales off the coast of Washington to organizing with SHAC USA, one of the most successful grassroots animal rights campaigns in our history. And I started out exactly as the kid you are saying needs to stop their “madness”.

Do you know who else started out the same way I did? Being inspired by listening to the music you want to end and reading the zines (now online, called blogs) you would like to do away with? ALF activists like Rod Coronado, Keith Mann, Peter Young. Andy Stepanian, Darius Fullmer. Do you know how ALL of those folks survived their prison experiences? By receiving books and letters and photos and donations by all those people who you suggest do nothing more than “work and watch movies with friends”.

The bottom line is, for over 40 years there has been ALF support work going on all over the world. (Please learn the history of that work at Conflict Gypsy) That work has created a community of people that might not be exactly what you want them to be, but ultimately will support those people you revere so much when they need it the most. Their simple presence will keep that community around, will foster that support when its needed, and keep the issues as relevant as possible. Of course we want more action, less words. But ultimately we need both, because that’s what will keep these ideologies going throughout the peaks and the troughs, the highs and the lows. To not show your support publicly for direct action is what may be the final blow to one of the most important elements of the animal rights movement.

Revolutionary Struggle are an anarchist-communist urban guerilla group. Members and co-accused are ‘on trial’ by the Greek state – more info here.

Jean Weir is a insurrectional anarchist from the UK who was invited by the members of RS to speak at their trial, which of course they chose to make into a ‘trial’ of the state and the capitalist system. Jean’s publishing/distribution project Elephant Editions has a website here.

SOLIDARITY WITH THE MEMBERS AN CO-ACCUSED OF THE REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE CASE

HONOR FOREVER TO FALLEN FIGHTER LAMBROS FOUNDAS

– dmp

TRANSCRIPT OF STATEMENT (10/09/2012):

I wish to clarify right away that I stand here as an enemy of the State and society. Far from being a lively community sharing social well-being and the joy of life, what is referred to as society is no more than the dull organisation of inequality and exploitation through social roles and forbiddance. The law is the barbed wire that holds everything in place, and has been internalised to such an extent that it forms the unconscious basis of daily habit and routine even for those who apply it. The media form opinions to maintain consensus and the delegation of individual responsibility to that organ of institutionalised terror, the State. The State, which includes its subjects, is at the basis of every social relation at the present time, including the one here in this court today.

I have come to stand face to face with the enemy inside this bastion of State terror because I was invited by the three comrades of Revolutionary Struggle. I haven’t come to enter into dialogue concerning these comrades or any others. My presence here is an act of solidarity and a continuation of my struggle as an anarchist. At least the present judicial proceeding has discarded every vestige of the democratic swindle, revealing the true essence of power. It’s impossible to pass over the fact that this trial is taking place inside a prison, the greatest crime perpetrated by man over man, and the physical proximity of the judge and the gaoler is an unusual if unintentional declaration of truth. The judge is nothing without the gaoler. The gaoler is nothing without the judge. They are one and bear equal responsibility for their actions. Terrorists and criminals are the servants of the State and capital, not those struggling to survive or fighting against a world of strife, war, poverty and oppression.

It is in the context of this struggle that I first heard of the anarchist Nikos Maziotis. He was in the extreme and dangerous phase of a hunger strike to enforce his refusal to wear a uniform and become a killer in the pay of the State. At the time many anarchists in Italy where I was living had also refused to do military service, choosing to go to prison rather than join the armed force that keeps humanity divided into classes and intervenes violently to extinguish any attempt at liberation. But also and above all because military service is one of the State’s weapons for building model citizens devoid of personality, individuality and their own way of thinking against which it is necessary to rebel and refuse.

I was already aware of the anarchist struggle, of the importance of the anarchist struggle in Greece alongside the exploited, the students, the bus drivers, schoolteachers, the people of the villages of Halkidiki, etc and had read inspiring reports of their actions and also about the State repression against them. But it was Nikos Maziotis, who without knowing it, was to be the propulsive element in my coming to Greece in person. It was on the occasion of his trial in 1999 that I came to Athens for the first time, to attend the court in solidarity with him. It was then that I discovered the wild beauty of the Greek anarchist comrades, their passion for freedom that found immediate expression in a thousand ways and never ceases to grow and intensify, inspiring and igniting free spirits all over the planet. Two things in particular impressed me on that occasion. First and foremost the unmitigated courage and dignity of Nikos Maziotis as he faced the perpetrators of power and privilege. His statement to the court, his affirmations as a man, an individual, a revolutionary, an anarchist, were made looking into the barrel of the gun of judgement without any concern for the consequences in terms of the years he was facing locked up in a cell. What he said that day is a classic of anarchist theory concerning the need for violent attack on the class enemy in first person and I personally have contributed to spreading it in the English language (the text, I mean, hopefully also the attacks). It has inspired comrades and rebels all over the world. What also impressed me and has affected my life ever since was the immediacy of so many comrades’ action in solidarity, without mediation, without the taboos about so-called violence that put a brake on the just anger of the exploited. They expressed solidarity in its only authentic manifestation, by continuing the struggle, the conscious attack on the profits of the bosses and the instruments of repression, even and above all when the class enemy was out in all its force to protect the property and arrogance of the rulers of the planet. Each with their own means, each with their own responsibility.

Armed struggle is on trial. Anarchists also. For any struggle to be worthy of the name it must be armed and self-organised, far from any delegation to the self-proclaimed representatives of the workers movement who have shamelessly betrayed the latter and collaborated with the bosses by reigning in the bad passions of those who have nothing to lose but their chains. Anarchists are against hierarchy and this also applies to the weapons used in the struggle. The weaponry of the anarchist combines the idea, the concept of freedom and the need to destroy not only inequality and poverty but also and at the same time, authority, hierarchy and obedience. They have the capacity to organise themselves and go to the attack without leaders or led, and push others to do the same. Words, stones, pistols, fire, dynamite, Molotov cocktails, graffiti, sledgehammers, hacksaws, theory, analysis, identification of the class enemy as it changes in order to stay the same, machine-guns, spray cans, bazookas are some of the weapons for the self-management of the attack.. (I forgot the catapult, la fionda..) All combine in destructive playful alchemy far from the deathlike logic of judgement. Even when a class enemy is struck down, it is just something to be done and let’s get it over with.

Anarchists abhore the blind institutionalised violence of the State with its arsenal of uniformed robots, tasers, tanks, drones, poisonous gases, flash grenades, truncheons, jackboots, armoured vehicles, cctv cameras, helicopters flying over our heads, courts, prisons, concentration camps, bomber planes, missiles, institutionalised religion, the media, the manipulation of people’s minds, etc. Only the State has the power to send men to their death or to kill, always with the blessing of the priest, after instilling them with patriotism and xenophobia from birth. Greece was the first country to use napalm against the guerrilla in the mountains. Now, irony of history, it uses nerve gas imported from the Israeli State which, after evicting millions of Palestinians from their homes to survive in camps, claims its legitimacy from the gassing of 6 million Jews by another State over half a century ago.

Anarchists are against prisons even for their enemies and know well that when the present setup of the means of production is destroyed and social wealth belongs to everyone, to each according to their needs, from each according to their desires, there will be little cause for strife. The State will do anything to obstruct the struggle for freedom in whatever form it takes, whatever instrument it uses. Since the beginning of the anarchist movement around the middle of the nineteenth century the organs of power have always reacted particularly violently against anarchists because the State, any State, be it red, black or the multicoloured version of social democracy, cannot tolerate freedom, be it in the form of ideas or in the self-organised action of the exploited. I could give many examples but I think we are short of time and I’ll carry on. And of course not only anarchists have been massacred by the State but the exploited in any attempt they have made to self organise their attack against oppression, and we saw this the other day in South Africa when 27 miners were gunned down in a demonstration against the conditions in the mine.

In the space of a century and a half the number of anarchists who have been imprisoned, exiled, guillotined, garrotted, electrocuted, tortured, gunned down in action, shot by firing squads, beaten to a pulp in the street and left to die in a cell, pushed out of police station windows or killed in traffic ‘accidents’, add up to thousands, and often the written word of the anarchist revolutionary has been as severely punished as the bullet. Far from showing signs of penitence or begging for mercy these proud fighters faced death as they had faced life, fearlessly, with a proud cry of Long live anarchy! Long live freedom! That is why the exterminatory delirium of the State is a battle lost before it begins. For every anarchist and rebel slain by the State thousands more spring up out of the nowhere of the uncertain, and the undecided. And that was visible in 2008 in this country, something which inspired people all over the world. Every second an anarchist spends in prison his spirit strengthens, expands beyond the walls and nourishes the solidarity that he or she inspires.

The anarchist struggle is qualitative not quantitative. Its aim is not to control and lead the masses into battle or act in their place but to push the exploited and excluded to act in first person to attack the class enemy and its structures. Sometimes it’s the other way around, a mass explosion of rage erupts after some exalted lackey of the State takes the law into his own hands and guns down a schoolboy, a rioter, a respected elder in the ghetto or a kid in the banlieu. When anarchists put themselves alongside the exploited it is not as their saviours but to fight together with them to extend and widen their attack, to turn riots into insurrections. Sometimes reality acts the other way, the rebels surpassing the anarchists in their destructive fury. In recent years in Greece and in many parts of the world there has been a proliferation of direct attacks on the structures of capital and the State by small groups or individuals. Unlike the seventies and eighties when capitalism was undergoing ferocious restructuring that was responded to in part, not only, by highly structured marxist-leninist armed struggle groups, from the nineties the attack has taken a more flexible form by anarchist groups based on affinity, often with no name or acronym. The workerist element of the struggle more or less disappeared along with the industrial working class due to the introduction of robotisation and real time operations thanks to information technology and capital’s resulting ability to exploit starvation wages on the other side of the planet.

The armed group Revolutionary Struggle appeared in 2003 at a time when there was an anti-terrorist frenzy globally, which in Greece coincided with the capture of the 17th of November group followed by true media delirium. At first their targets were symbols of authority and the State – police, the American Embassy, the Ministry of Finance and Labour, and also an attempt on the minister for Public Order who had been responsible for upgrading the repression. They acted directly without needing the alibi of the masses in order to strike the common enemy, for their own dignity and coherence. When in 2008 the so-called financial crisis became official along with the responsibility of the State and the banking corporations, their actions turned to financially-related targets such as the Stock Exchange, Citibank, Eurobank, etc.

During the whole period the group published extensive analyses which were combined with their actions and contained a strong class position, exhorting the class of exploited to rise and attack those responsible. They are a part of this new complexive reality of the struggle against capital and the State, one that is pushing towards a self-organised revolutionary outlet. Their choice of armed struggle in the specific sense is not presented as an end in itself but simply as a tool to bring the revolutionary perspective to the fore and present the hypothesis of the need for immediate attack in an unequivocal discourse addressed both to the anarchist movement and the wider movement of the exploited.

The comrades who have claimed responsibility for this organisation are individuals who have been active fighters in the struggles of the anarchist movement in Greece in its many forms for decades and are well known in the movement and beyond. In the face of the media outrage and scaremongering following their arrests they came out and proudly claimed the organisation, decriminalising it in the face of the terroristic attack of the media on the minds of the population in order to prepare the terrain for consensus and support for their political and physical annihilation at the hands of the repressive organs of the State. They have written volumes explaining the reasons for the attacks and the need for social rebellion particularly at this moment where, as in many other parts of Europe and the world, the organised crime of State, bosses and banks has led to further extortion from the dispossessed who are now at breaking point. Their message is that of the need for direct attack, that the structures of capital and the State are not invincible.

The words and the actions of the Revolutionary Solidarity group [eh, you mean the Revolutionary Struggle? interpretor] of the Revolutionary Struggle group, (yes… it’s the same thing… solidarity is the struggle and the struggle is solidarity… ) have been translated into many languages in the dimension of the continuation and intensification of revolutionary solidarity in the dimension of attack. This has led to multiform actions, from banner-hanging, sabotage, incendiary attacks on banks and the structures of repression, discussions, international meetings, publications, posters, etc. and have been one of the recent sources of inspiration to anarchists everywhere.

At a time when life has been mortgaged to Capital and become little more than a question of accountancy where every day people are bombarded by the media with figures in billions while they are struggling to stay alive and feed their children, Revolutionary Struggle has had considerable impact on those who see the crisis not as something that has to be readdressed and corrected, but faced head on and destroyed, along with work and the whole economy. Poverty will never be eliminated until we destroy work because it is the condition that forces people to spend their lives doing soul-destroying jobs at starvation wages.

Millions of young people all over the planet are made to feel useless and without hope due to spreading unemployment. It’s time to destroy work as a very concept and take back our lives. Work is a crime, an ideological and physical imposition on the great mass of human beings, animals, and the earth itself, for the benefit of a small percentage of glitterati, but believed in and defended by the whole social set-up, exploiters and exploited alike. In the words of Herman J. Schuurman one of the founders of the Mokergroep, a group of young proletarians in 1923 wrote this: We want to create as free people, not work as slaves; therefore we will destroy the system of slavery. Capitalism only exists because of the work of the workers, thus we will sabotage it and put an end to it. If we are not working towards the destruction of capital, we are working towards the destruction of humanity! We do not want to be destroyed by capitalism, so capitalism will have to be destroyed by us.

I don’t know if the Revolutionary Struggle comrades are advocating the destruction of work, but that is where the totality of the struggle for the destruction of the existent takes us, without compromise or half measures.

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A short background on the Revolutionary Struggle case

On March 10th, 2010, anarchist comrade Lambros Foundas was murdered after an armed scuffle with police forces. Those were the days when Greece was first subjected to the stifling scrutiny of the IMF/ECB/EU Troika, those were the days when Lambros Foundas, member of the Revolutionary Struggle group, lost his life in a shootout with the police during a preparatory action aimed against the political and economic elite that ravages the planet, and plunders and exsanguinates social wealth globally, relegating human life to rock bottom.

After a month and amid a climate of terror-hysteria, in April 2010 the police made preemptive detentions in order to dismantle the Revolutionary Struggle group, and also arrested and imprisoned anarchists Kostas Gournas, Nikos Maziotis and Pola Roupa, who took political responsibility for their participation in the organization.

Simultaneously, anarchists Vaggelis Stathopoulos, Christoforos Kortesis and Sarantos Nikitopoulos were caught and sent to prison. The latter three categorically deny any participation in the organization ever since their arrest, stating that their prosecution concerns their years-long involvement in subversive projects, their political affiliation to the anarchist/anti-authoritarian space and their comradely relationships.

Kostas Katsenos is also charged with participation in the group, and ever since the period of these pretrial incarcerations an arrest warrant was pending against him, too.

The system wanted to deliver a decisive blow to the organization, deeming Revolutionary Struggle as a threat; therefore, it expanded its offensive through the aforementioned arrests so as to crush a wider part of the subversive movement.

After six months, in the context of this expansion of the repressive offensive, dozens of comrades from the anarchist/anti-authoritarian milieu were called to testify and underwent interrogations, along with friends and relatives of the six imprisoned anarchists.

The vindictiveness of repression mechanisms was proved once again, when the State went as far as to charge Marie Beraha—spouse of Kostas Gournas—with participation in the group. This prosecution is a purely vindictive act against Kostas Gournas, in an effort to curb his combatant stance.

On October 5th, 2011, the RS case trial got underway in the special court of Koridallos prisons, in a closed room, withcomplete absence of any publicity. While the mass media always seemed eager to aid the repressive offensive and state propaganda, nowadays they keep silent—in a provocative way and under a political mandate—about anything related to the court proceeding of the RS case.

On the one hand, the regime is conducting a trial against its political adversaries and wants to gag any message of struggle and to distort its meaning. On the other hand, the three comrades, who took political responsibility for their participation in the organization, have defended its actions and political plan. At the same, with their statements in court, all defendants in this case have converted the trial sessions into a harsh reproach upon the political-economic system of wretchedness and exploitation, unveiling the nature of laws and specific treatments that are enforced against those who have the strength to resist.

It must be emphasized that none of the accused comrades is currently imprisoned. Vaggelis Stathopoulos, Sarantos Nikitopoulos and Chistoforos Kortesis were ordered released after 12 months of pretrial incarceration. Kostas Katsenos presented himself to the authorities at the beginning of the trial, and was held imprisoned for six months before being released.

Revolutionary Struggle members Kostas Gournas, Nikos Maziotis and Pola Roupa were released from prison after 18 months, when the maximum period of pretrial detention expired.

Today, Nikos Maziotis and Pola Roupa are at large (!) and no longer attend the court proceeding.

As we write these lines, the trial is at the stage of defense witnesses’ testimonies. Already, the witnesses in defense of Revolutionary Struggle members K.Gournas, N.Maziotis and P.Roupa gave their statements in court. In particular, comrades from Greece and abroad argued the significance of the Revolutionary Struggle group in political and historical terms, and defended armed struggle as well as the entirety and breadth of revolutionary ventures. In the upcoming days, the court will hear witnesses’ testimonies for the defense of V.Stathopoulos, K.Katsenos, S.Nikitopoulos, Ch.Kortesis and M.Beraha, who deny their participation in the organization, nevertheless demonstrate the importance of struggle and the need to resist.

During the days of this international appeal, in late November, it is estimated that the trial will likely be nearing the defendants’ statements. It is thus considered as very important to receive messages of solidarity and resistance from comrades all over the world, who can show in their own way that the accused comrades are not alone, that the struggle for the overthrow of this world is always timely.

On 11 of November 2012, covered by the night and with desires of revolutionary solidarity to the imprisoned anarchists from around the world, we burnt one state elementary school in Paniki, Manado. We salute our action to all of our brothers and sisters from Informal Anarchist Federation – International Revolutionary Front (FAI – IRF).

Maybe, many of the comrades will be asking why we put a fire in a school? It’s a simple answer.

First, school is a prison. And there’s no other excuse to defend the school and write it out from the list of targets of revolutionary actions. In school, we can’t learn about freedom, bravery, uniqueness and revolutionary solidarity. We learn nothing but the situation of society that imposes on our dignity as a human being.

For anarchy
For the black international
International Conspiracy for Revenge (ICR)
Informal Anarchist Federation – International Revolutionary Front (FAI – IRF)

–

Notes on the action:

The fire started at around 9pm. The entire school was burned out. 322 children now have a lot of free time without state education. There was not a single casualty. Following the previous ICR action in Manado on 5th November, the police organised a meeting specifically to discuss the situation, where media were not allowed inside to hear the proceedings. They are presumed to have decided on a policy of denial, to attempt to suppress the information about the attacks. Hence, the previous explosive device in Manado was declared only to be an “empty suitcase” mistaken for a bomb, and the arson of this school declared as an “electrical short-circuit”.

“Remember, remember
The fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.”(V for Vendetta)

Last night (Monday, 5 November 2012), we placed a small explosive package.
We put it in front of Red Monkey Karaoke’s pub in Manado. We did it as a small gesture of a solidarity to all the rebels in Papua who were shot by the Indonesian military, to the people in Philippines who stand up against the eco-disaster of mega project of SMI-Xstrata, to the rebels in Greece squats who faced the eviction and were kidnapped by the state, to the anti-fascist fighters around the world who stand up against discrimination and terror.

We know it means nothing for some people who can only throw us by critiques and on other side, put their self behind the bars of reasons. For some people, this kind of solidarity “isn’t the true solidarity” because we hide our face and only put one name: Informal Anarchist Federation – International Revolutionary Front. Even so, we still don’t want to send our solidarity to “some revolutionary”, on the contrary we declare ourselves as a nihilist front.

Red Monkey Karaoke is one of the high class entertainment places in Manado. The device was placed in the parking area, in the middle of many cars from rich people. The target: cars in the parking area. Destroy the cars (as a main transportation for urban people). This is a symbol that ICR – FAI/IRF stand next to the rebels who are against the eco-disaster. To show solidarity and never step back from the frontline.

Red Monkey Karaoke is located in the main street of Manado. Pierre Tendean street is the widest and main street in Manado. Red Monkey was chosen because it is one of the consumerist symbols of Manado. The targeted was not the people, and that’s why the package was placed in the parking area.

–

The device was discovered by Megamass corporate security at 24:00 hrs. The security alerted Manado police who secured the area. At 02:00 Sulawesi police force arrived, made their evaluation and at 02:32 the item was detonated.

=======================================================

Dear comrades and companerxs of Informal Anarchist Federation – International Revolutionary Front (FAI – IRF) from around the world, to all the rebels who still rise against the power, society and eco-disaster.

We, the International Conspiracy for Revenge, Indonesian section of FAI-IRF want to make an international call of direct action against all property and symbols of society, eco-destroyers, fascists, military and our enemies. This international call in the beginning is to remember the abduction of our two brothers from Long Live Luciano Tortuga Cell – FAI Indonesia, Eat and Billy, by the state one year ago. One year of kidnap and harassment of revolutionary action done by our brothers. And not to forget to mention, the fugitive member of Long Live Luciano Tortuga Cell, K, who is still underground and hunted by power.

But in essence, our action will be dedicated to all the rebels and revolutionaries who never step back, eating their words, and who never want to wash their hands by the sale of another revolutionary name to protect their comfort zones.

We want to call our sisters and brothers in arms from all the cells of FAI-IRF to refresh our revolutionary memories. That until today, we haven’t forgotten and will never forget our sisters and brothers who are kidnapped and seized behind bars by the state. Eat and Billy are only a small piece in a wave of repression that always faced the rise of insurrectionary desires around the circles of FAI-IRF. Action always speaks louder than words.

For one week, starting from today, we want to send our revolutionary greetings for Eat and Billy and other rebels (proud and revolutionary members of CCF and Revolutionary Struggle, Luciano Tortuga Pitronello, Mario Tripa Lopez, Marco Camenisch, Gabriel Pombo da Silva, Theofilos Mavropoulos, Alfredo Cospito and Nicola Gai, Marcelo, Juan and Fredy, Ivan Silva and Carla Verdugo, anarchist prisoners of operations in Italia and many more revolutionary names) that must be remembered and mentioned in our hearts through action.

See you in the street, covered by the night through the fires against power and society.

“This pamphlet is a meeting point of comrades from all over the world. An imaginary meeting since the walls and bars of the prisons where we are temporarily keep our bodies hostage. But our meanings remain free, escape from the cells of prison and are expressed with words continuing to provoke authority.

Words that still smell of fire and gunpowder, words which carry with them all of our hate for the system, words unrepentant and armed, words which transfer stresses and desires, words which break the isolation of prison, words full of passion for the mutiny we want to continue, words from Chile, Mexico, America, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Bulgaria, Indonesia…

The letters sent to us by the hostage comrades, replying thus to the international call of solidarity of the CCF is not just mail between prisoners.

Our plan for a Black International of imprisoned anarchists, is not simply “a nice theory” which begins and ends inside printed words. It is the deposit of memory which exists, in a move forward.

A memory which does not always count its moments with common terms and common reference points. By reading this pamphlet someone can discover an international galaxy of points of views and positions with comrades whose references speak of the class war and the proletariat and others who speak of nihilism and anti-socialism.

This difference for us is not a contradiction. On the contrary it reveals the invisible line which connects all forms of anarchy and dispute into an international revolutionary front which has as its aim to destroy every form of authority.”Conspiracy of Cells of Fire : Imprisoned Members Cell (Excerpt from the Introduction)

This publication, the first from Black International Editions, is released online and in paper format from three countries – Greece, Chile and United Kingdom, as an act of solidarity and confrontation to this court process against the CCF and their co-accused. The words of the anarchist prisoners who have responded to the international solidarity call of the CCF meet with the statements of the groups of the international network for counter-information and translation. Together with the armed words of the CCF, a new international revolutionary front is drawn out, this new publication maps the fire that has been spreading across oceans into many territories. In the words of Eat, imprisoned member of Long-Live Luciano Tortuga Cell, FAI Indonesia:

“We are the new chaotic virus, the ghost of freedom, the uncontrollable international plague of revolt.”

For Greek language version, you can find this publication on paper at various self-organised spaces in Exarchia, Athens, Greece, or email sal.spf(at)gmail.com for copies.

In Santiago, Chile, find it at Biblioteca La Hiedra or via Entropia Ediciones in a Spanish language version.

In UK, find it at anarchist spaces, like Kebele in Bristol, or 56a Infoshop in London. You can also find it at the 2012 London Anarchist Bookfair where Elephant Editions will have copies – elephanteditions(at)riseup.net

The email for contact with the imprisoned CCF members has moved to riseup.net’s mail server. From now on, you can communicate at sinomosiapf(at)riseup.net

The trial against the imprisoned CCF members and anarchist Theofilos Mavropoulos was scheduled for the morning of June 27th at Evelpidon courts, in Athens. In addition to much heavier charges, all ten of them are now prosecuted even for incitement to criminal acts in relation to three texts that had been published online in October–November 2011. The first one was a solidarity text to the anarchist hangout Nadir (in Thessaloniki) and the second one concerned the preliminary investigation due to the text in solidarity with Nadir, both signed by the imprisoned members of the R.O. CCF and Theofilos Mavropoulos. On June 26th, one day before the trial at Evelpidon courts, a solidarity statement concerning this new prosecution against CCF members and Theofilos Mavropoulos was issued by the anarchist hangout Nadir.*

The third among the aforementioned texts that has also been included in the trial brief is not even their own, but it is a responsibility claim for incendiary attack on Studio ATA in Melissia, Athens, signed by the Deviant Behaviours for the Spreading of Revolutionary Terrorism/International Revolutionary Front (the same group that on June 29th, 2012, claimed responsibility for the explosive attack on the Greek headquarters of Microsoft in Maroussi, Athens, an action which was carried out in the early hours of Wednesday, June 27th).

That Wednesday morning, 27/6, a spectacular terror-show was set up by the agents of “citizen protection”. By 8.30am, dark-blue luxury jeeps and blue paddy-wagons of the special terror-unit set off from Koridallos prisons and crossed the city’s streets at high speeds, with flashing sirens wailing like crazy.

Eight of the imprisoned comrades attended the proceeding at Evelpidon courts, while two of them were absent (for non-alarming reasons). Among them was comrade Olga Ekonomidou, who looked well —she had finally come out of the solitary confinement of Diavata prisons and is expected to be transferred to Eleonas–Thebes prisons, given there will be no “unpleasant surprise” on the part of prison authorities.

A small-scale scuffle broke out when the imprisoned comrades were being transferred from the police paddy-wagons into a hellish basement at Building 9, because few thugs from anti-riot squads tried to provoke and push back the gathered people (by that time, nearly over a hundred), and even used police batons against solidaritarians. The incident soon came to an end, with no serious injuries.

The eight prisoners were locked up for approximately five hours in that basement. Numerous random people, and even lawyers passing by, were asking curiously in a whispery voice why were so many repressive forces lined up across the courtyard alleys, evidently terrorized at the sight of not only hooded and fully-armed blue cops but also of a total of five green police squads guarding closely for hours the space between the detention rooms and the solidaritarians.

When the prisoners’ transfer finally began from Building 9 to the courtroom in Building 2, within a distance of nearly 100 metres, it was already expected that the trial would be postponed after the counsel’s respective appeal. Police vehicles were parked close to each other, in order to block any visual contact with the captive comrades. Not more than 80 comrades were present then, what felt at least discouraging, bearing in mind the political importance of this prosecution as an attempted silencing of radical free speech. However, solidarity slogans were chanted lively in the alleys of courtyards, while several of the comrades, friends and relatives managed to accompany the smiling and proud CCF members as well as revolutionary Theofilos Mavropoulos inside the courtroom, who were all handcuffed and “escorted” tightly by “anti”terrorist hooded macho thugs.

Solidarity words included the following slogans: ‘The anarchist discourse cannot be penalized; cops and judges, go fuck yourselves’, ‘Freedom for the Cells of Fire’, ‘Praxis of anarchist is not just words; freedom for the anarchist comrades’, ‘The States are the only terrorists; solidarity with armed guerrillas’, ‘Only bursts of Kalashnikov would do justice and make you [cops] come to your senses’, ‘The passion for freedom is stronger than all prison cells’, ‘Rage and consciousness, denial and violence; down with statism, long live anarchy’…

People who stood outside the courtroom at the time were shouting out loud their solidarity and complicity with the accused, when a police squad passed near them; a cop was particularly irritated at the sound of an anti-Nazi slogan, so much as to raise his middle finger. He got the response he deserved—to put it in his ass, of course—but, other than that, comrades stayed calm, moved closer to the courtyard and focused on greeting with their strength and applauses the anarchist prisoners on their way back to the police vans, after the presiding judge had agreed to the postponement of the trial (set for December 2nd, 2013).

Unlike the conditions at the court-martial of Koridallos women’s prisons, where identity cards of visitors are withheld and returned upon exit from the courtroom, no one must give identity card upon entrance through the metal detectors in Evelpidon courts area. Nevertheless, the day was marked by ambushes of plainclothes cops who conducted identity checks of visitors earlier in the morning, as well as verbal provocations by anti-riot cops against attendees who were walking away from Building 2 after the trial process was over, by midday.

The jeeps and vans of the terror-unit drove off with sirens wailing once again, headed back to Koridallos prisons. After a while, one police battalion harassed two comrades who were leaving the area, asking for their identity cards. A “law enforcement officer” attempted to punch one of them, who was also chased by the murderers in uniform, but quickly got away. The bullying ended only after the squad’s leader ordered his sheep to come back to the herd.

So, this was not just another day at public courts. To try to put it in other words, it was a low turnout of attendees at the umpteenth trial against comrades, a long waiting within the disgusting environment of the temples of bourgeois justice, where court employees were pushing back and forth shopping trolleys (“expropriated” from supermarkets) laden with piles of trial briefs and judicial documents of countless cases against civilians; and it was a harsh reminder of the ongoing captivity of unrepentant revolutionary fighters, in the context of an overt prosecution of freedom of speech and solidarity.

* On July 2nd the anarchist hangout Nadir was raided once again, in the context of an extensive police operation across the city of Thessaloniki.Here’s the communiqué by the imprisoned members of the R.O. CCF of the first phase and anarchist of praxis Theofilos Mavropoulos concerning the trial farce of June 27th:

[ Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 ]

On June 27th we stand trial charged with incitement to criminal acts in relation to three texts that were released when we found ourselves captives in the State’s prisons. One of these texts is a responsibility claim for arson on vehicle(s) belonging to a television production studio company by the group “Deviant Behaviours…” of the International Revolutionary Front (IRF), and the other two are our own announcements about the cops’ raid in the anarchist hangout Nadir (in Thessaloniki), as well as the interrogation that followed this text…

The phrase in question that annoyed the judicial mafia is “not 1 millimetre back; 9mms in cops’ heads.”

We could have not wasted even a single word about this case. The legal implications of this new prosecution are just a drop in the ocean for us.

We know that we have ahead of us predefined convictions to many decades in prison. How could we be concerned about a few months more, from one misdemeanor charge? But still… an anarchist of praxis cannot think with the legal reasoning of a lawyer.

This prosecution acquires a distinct political value. As already shown, the State, the prosecutorial authorities and police services have repeatedly tried all innovative methods and tactics against the CCF: members of the Conspiracy charged with abetments while being in custody; extension of remand in custody (by an order of new pretrial detention just few hours before the expiry of the 18-month period of the initial pretrial detention) against one of our comrades (Gerasimos Tsakalos) while he was hospitalized as a hunger striker; cooperation of the Italian and Greek authorities for our probable extradition to Italy; further prosecutions in relation to texts, etc.

It is written somewhere that the more your enemy persecutes you, the more it’s proven that you have succeeded hard blows against the enemy.

To us, the charges that fill the thousands of pages of our trial briefs are a title of honour. But we want to stress that, as anarchists of praxis, what we leave behind us unanswered becomes a legacy for the future; to the contrary, what we gain creates our perspective.

The fact that the prison guards can keep for two and a half months comrades locked up in solitary confinement cells, without the aggressive reflexes of anarchist solidarity being activated (with few exceptions), is undoubtedly a defeat.

If the daily attacks by dastard petty fascists and their presence on the street, in the squares and neighbourhoods won’t be met with the corresponding retaliation on our part, with knives, knuckledusters, fires and explosions, then they will mark the retreat of the enemy within.

The recoil of offensive actions from the new anarchist urban guerrilla warfare (with the exception of the anarchists of praxis and the cells of FAI-IRF) against the tension conditions of the social machine is obviously a victory of fear and repression.

We do not want to let fear and defeatism become our shadow. In spite of the times, we remain unrepentantly hardheaded and steadfast. We will not turn down the volume of our discourse or disarm our words.

The fact that we are being accused because of our texts for “inciting others to commit felony offenses” means that our words can still communicate with the doubters and deniers of our era and be transformed into actions. We are proud of it. We never liked hollow words. At the same time we never believed in, nor reconciled with democratic liberties and rights. We have always thought that they serve as a “showcase” for the police state and the social machine.

By the prosecution of our texts, even the last illusions that some people may maintain about democracy are withdrawn. Now the curtain of freedom of speech has been pulled back, and the judicial censorship has been exposed. Yet this is a good thing… Therefore, we will never talk about the “criminalization” of discourse and ideas.

We have always believed that the insurrectionist theory is accompanied by anarchist practices, as well as vice versa.

Logos and praxis (discourse and action) are inseparable concepts. The positive side of our prosecution is polarization. Once illusions are withdrawn from the scene, each and every one takes position. There are no innocents.

We respond to the fear of repression with the momentum of attack. Ignorance and indifference are repealed, and now decisions speak.

The dilemma is clear. Either with the society of the existent or the deniers of our era; either an appeased citizen or oppugning riotmaker; either an eternally indignant protestor or anarchist of praxis; either rule or exception, either now or never.

NOT 1 MILLIMETRE BACK
9MMS AGAINST DIRECTORS AND SERVANTS OF THE SOCIAL MACHINE

PS. In court, where we’re called to appear, we disdain the judicial marionettes and disregard the defense of our rights. After all, we have thrown the rights which democracy “grants” to us into fire long ago, along with our legal identities.

Our presence there and our stance are yet another insult and an affront to the laws’ Inquisitors.

It is a small part of the total anarchist war we declare against society of the State.

The imprisoned members of the R.O. CCF of the first phase and anarchist of praxis Theofilos Mavropoulos

The abyss does not stop us. Communique at one year after the Bombing that almost cost me my life

First days of June, 2012

To the conscious rebels; to my companions scattered across the world:

A little more than a month has passed since everything changed for me that cold predawn of June 1st last year, and I believe that to not declare myself about it would be to play along with the game that has me here prisoner in the hospital of the Santiago 1 prison, and it would be a dishonor to myself, but above all to you my dear compañerxs who worry about me.

I should say: I wanted to make a balance one year from when all this happened, but did not manifest it publicly for two reasons: the first is because that text was too compromising, and the second and more important in my opinion is because nothing was really analyzed in it, it was only a compilation of frustration, resentment and hatred that raged against everyone, cursing those who ran off, but now I want to do it, I feel the lucidity to be able to deliver some words that I am sure are so deserved.

But before beginning, I want to advise you of the reasons for my delay. The days have not been easy, the permanent confinement has begun to do its work, and my mood has been terrible, which is why my first draft of this communique ended up being a compendium of rage and ire; arrogance, aggressiveness and haughtiness began to flourish in my attitudes, and faced with some situations I simply did not recognize myself, but I fight, I fight to continue forward and not betray myself, trying to fight my own self in daily life, reminding myself and not forgetting who I am and why I am here.

Well here I go…

As concerns my wounds and healing it has gone very well, the daily exercises and practice in the manual labor of life have been done, I say this with a great smile, that I have surpassed the disability of knowing myself semi-mutilated; as for my vision it has improved greatly, but I should continue with the ocular treatment for a good time; as for the burns, apart from being all healed many have evolved positively, even so, I should keep using the special compression suit for the burns and the rose hip oil. At least for me, this chapter that has to do with my physical state is closed, happily the bomb did not kill me.

My emotional state has been weakening over the past days, but this is due to the permanent confinement, I know that all prisoners have our highs and lows, so I am optimistic about this situation, after all, the confinement cannot be forever, and if it was then they would only have my flesh, because my mind and spirit will carry on in the street next to each combatant, smiling and conspiring, and I say this not as a poetic slogan I affirm it as a reality that is reflected in the projection of insurgent dreaming where the authoritarian values of domination are crushed in various ways.

Prison is hard, I will not deny it, but it is possible to confront it, and we are witnesses of that, myself and each and every one of my companions who have in different ways embraced me to make me know that I am not alone. The exemplary punishment that power boasts so much about is nothing of the sort, at least in my case, since my comrades as well as myself do not have a clue why their media-spectacle is realized successfully, and what’s more, the only example we follow here is the one we give ourselves, wielding our best weapon: solidarity.

Self-critiques I make many, above all in this episode that is called prison, where I have taken out the worst of myself, for which I humbly beg the pardon of each and every one of the comrades who I have shown my teeth to in one way or another, those I have attacked only for the desire to unload my anger, those I did not want to see/write due to the rage and envy that my condition created in me, and above all, I beg the pardon of everyone who has had to swallow bad faces, disagreeable times and my poor character for the sole fact of wanting to be in solidarity with me. So as I ought to confess I have not been at the height of the circumstances, of your solidarity which is enormous, but here we are ready to move forward, to fall and to get back up again, to learn from the errors — this is the idea, right?

If I am to make a constructive criticism it would be only that perhaps there is a lack of first-hand information about what it is to live the consequences of choosing a rebel life, what it means to live in prison and isolation, what this brings with it, understanding more closely the stigma of being considered a terrorist and what goes on with our lives when this happens, familiarizing ourselves more with subjects like clandestinity and exile that are recurrent places in the struggle for freedom in a way that is more real and less imaginary, and finally starting to speak more about torture, the methods the enemy applies, crime as base value for a State-police, mutilation as a possibility in the war against authority, pain and agony as part of the life of warriors, and thus each and every one of these difficult possibilities that one can face, beyond speculation and charlatanry.

If I am to share my scant, but no less intense, experience in this sense, I would say that the work of prison and isolation have to do more than anything with a moral demotivation, the others start not to matter a bit, likewise what is happening outside, you adhere yourself to the prison reality, this is your world now, what do you get from knowing about what is happening outside if you are inside? You start to worry always less about yourself, you do not care about anything, you become contemptuous of others and the environment, you begin to value others’ efforts to get a smile out of you less and less, because they are not living your nightmare, it follows that you lose the fear of anything because you know that you have lost everything and you are at the bottom of the abyss, you have fucked life, you turn hostile and aggressive, seeking in this way to end everything soon, that the jailers crush you with their batons for the insults you hurl at them every day, and that, if you are lucky, they’ll give you a hand and you’ll end up dead, to finally rest from the psychosis you are carrying or, in the worst case, that other prisoners do this task to show you who has the most balls. When the psychosis of confinement advances, gestures of solidarity begin to matter little, you put to yourself emotional traps like “Why see importance in a gesture of solidarity if I remain prisoner?” or even worse, you articulate phrases like,”They are not suffering the consequences like I am,” and you curse your luck; but some hard loving and caring slaps are needed to warn us of the toxicity of these thoughts, that is to say, it is really stupid to believe that only we live the consequences of confinement, and it is not that one wants for everyone to live these consequences, but the sense of not being alone and helpless makes us strong, therefore, when a comrade falls prisoner it doesn’t just have to do with their confinement/punishment, there are many noble hearts who decide to accompany the comrade in this new situation, acting in solidarity with him/her, being present, writing, spreading news of their situation, vindicating them in the street, with flyers, pamphlets, posters, shouting their name in the demonstration, breaking the symbols of power in their honor, etc. Prison and isolation do their work, you start to dig your own grave and alone you go deeper into it, until you end up hearing phrases so absurd as that you are alone, and the worst of this self-imposed trap is that we ourselves take care of driving off the tools that can help us to not decline, and then, sickly, we complain and get depressed from the forgetfulness we have buried ourselves in, because by now no one remembers us, no one is in solidarity with us, the desperation eats us up inside, and what we think would be our greatest weapon to confront adversity was crushed by the walls of silence, our will shattered, and so your projects become of little relevance, you get discouraged easily, the future becomes uncertain, you start to lose interest in life, and one anguishing night you end up hanging yourself in your cell.

So in order to not fall into these kinds of dynamics it is important to observe oneself constantly and to be evaluating ourselves, clinging to the things/people/circumstances that make us well, and distancing ourselves from the harmful (as much as possible), because certainly to reach a state of carceral psychosis is not a matter of one day or another, it is a monster that goes on growing in of our minds and hearts with the passing of times, and it is effectively a gradual process that we can become aware of and combat before it is too late.

I should say that nobody ever told me what permanent confinement meant (much less how to confront it), my most real encounters were the anecdotes of one book or another, and the rest was experienced through my imagination, with this, I am never saying that today I was not ready to assume the costs of the postures I had chosen in life, but it definitely would have been a great help to me. Fine, but at least in my case I have tried to face this arming myself with projects to contribute to, even from my condition, it is important to find sense in your days, they can be simple things, reading a book and giving your opinion, writing with others who are imprisoned or not, creating music/poetry, learning to draw, exercising your body, etc; but here I make an note, our most important projects, at least in permanent confinement, should be those that are needed only from our readiness and will, and therefore, I do not foreclose on the possibility of contributing in projects that are beyond our physical limitations, but one must keep in consideration that these can bring oceans of frustrations with them: someone doesn’t come to visit, does not write me back, forgets to bring this or that, that we organize ourselves around certain themes, and if our senses of life are limited in turn to just projects in the street, with a few trip-ups of this kind we will be taken down in terms of morale more or less quickly; therefore I believe that one must maintain two kinds of projects, one that makes us maintain contact with the other side of the wall, and the other that must do more than anything with an individual labor, that can generate itself even in conditions of maximum confinement, something that happens in unfortunate cases, be it loss of communication with the outside, or the seizure only of the material we use for our individual projects, so we do not decline in morale. It is important to create support networks for oneself in order to not crumble along the way, to be observant and analyze what the prison reality offers you and to take from it what you deem convenient, which is to say that if the prison keeps you in total isolation you can take advantage of the silence of this situation to read, write or reflect, alternatively if it offers you the courtyard you can take advantage of it to exercise or talk with other prisoners (one can always learn something useful), and thus in a substantial way the possibility of elaborating an escape plan or a mutiny always exists independently of the regimen they submit us to.

If I am to speak about another one of the possible consequences of this war that some fill their mouths with so much, it would be to say that to be recognized as an enemy of authority is not easy, less so when you are labeled as a terrorist in the media, your social environment is affected almost unanimously, family members, friends and comrades take off running, turn their backs on you and often deny they ever knew you, few are the brave who dare to remain with you, the public opinion does its work and through all the possible methods the system tries to isolate you, they don’t have to get their hands dirty with the death penalty anymore, these days the methods are more sophisticated and democratic, they make your life cease to have meaning because they distance you from everything that you are a part of, and they don’t just do this physically by getting you in a cage, but also psychologically to reduce your convictions, they demonize you collectively, they erase the memory of what you once were and they transform you into a television case, in a failed explosive attack, in a bank robbery with a policeman killed, or into a member of a phantasmic terrorist organization, you are that, you are your letter of presentation, to such an extent that if you don’t become aware that you are much more than what the press says, you end up believing it; and the best example can be given by Mauri–why is he known for an unsuccessful May 22 and has anyone ever heard of the times when he helped some elderly people in his neighborhood with their heavy shopping bags? We ourselves are responsible for reducing him to a date on the calendar. Society strikes you psychically, your days no longer have the sense they did before, you are worth nothing and you have ruining the lives of everyone around you — Why keep existing? Why cause more pain? They no longer need to stain their hands with your blood; please, we are civilized people, instead they incite you to finish yourself off, because they have reduced you to a mere episode, you are that, a terrorist who only knows how to create pain around him, and so the best thing you can do is to do your loved ones a favor, that is if you still have anything of a heart left, and end your life. This is the hidden discourse that reproduces our shiny Chilean democracy, there are no longer any revolutionaries, now they minimize us as mere terrorists, because clearly a revolutionary is someone with feelings, with ideas, love of freedom and a companion of the oppressed, that is, someone worth imitating, instead the terrorist is a shadow with impunity who has no heart and is obsessed with the use of violence due to past childhood traumas — so how to face this situation?

For my part I have learned to keep public opinion at bay, which is usually the opinion of the bourgeois press, with the simple act of analyzing their role one manages to halt much of their discourse, although I will not deny that many times in their work they have hurt me deeply, above all when you become aware of these opinions coming from the mouths of people you love, when they are the ones who put you between the spade and the wall: either kill yourself or keep hurting us, wow, how difficult, how intense, then it is your turn to decide, you or they, you or those you love most, and if you choose yourself what sense will life have without them? Will you choose yourself? Do you love them so little? You? Them? The instinct of survival or your love? Which is stronger? Apparently neither is the correct alternative, but I choose my life, if I do not love myself, it is impossible for me to love others. And I end up expelling various persons from my life and from my heart for always, I keep going, alone and wounded like that predawn, confused, with death stalking me and red in flames of ire, life hit me again, but it is only another chapter and I get up again, this time with the help of what was never missing: solidarity. Now I reflect on it, one year after the bombing that almost cost me my life, and I do not repent these decisions, the pain was better, like the bomb, it was momentary, but life continued and the suffering of these episodes went diffused with the passing of time, life continues, struggle continues, and what is insurmountable today will tomorrow be nothing more than a story, another chapter in this existence of combat.

At this point I have spoken of two possible consequences in revolutionary struggle, prison and being recognized as an enemy of society, but I have not spoken of the consequence that is most noted in my case, the mutilation of our bodies and how we can keep fighting in spite of this. If I am to speak of healing and how the mutilation of our bodies becomes like a cross that one must carry for life, I believe that it is important to point out that each case is particular, having its windows and own difficulties. But I suppose that in the final count there are enough similarities. At first you are discouraged, it is like a cataclysm that dusted your life away and all beautiful feelings find themselves under the rubble of mutilation, desires that what happened to you had only been a bad dream that you will soon wake up from, you become obstinate toward the obvious, this could not have happened to you, there must be an explanation, but the only explanation is the one the mirror gives you, the days pass, you get depressed, you think that you will never get past it, you need to ask for help for some basic tasks and this causes you an uncomfortable humiliation, you become hateful and this new situation frustrates you, the people who try to encourage you notice your resignation, life like this does not make sense, but they apply themselves to support you in spite of your mood, you are irritated, you don’t want to do exercises or rehabilitate yourself, you want to send everything to the shit, take your life away, this seems to be an option, but you are afraid that in the attempt you will end up worse off, you are confused, you cry in the nights of solitude and you make yourself like a wild beast in front of others, you are wounded you know, but you have to heal your heart to be able to start to recover. If you manage to make it this far, you have taken a step forward in the path toward victory, your victory, because this is a battle, now you should arm yourself with patience, frustration is just around the corner, one, two, three, one hundred falls, nobody said it would be easy, but look at yourself, you don’t do it very well, but you do it, and alone, without help, a pat on the back, the rest is practice they tell you, if you could do it once, you can do it again, you look around you, physically you are alone, and you accomplish it: you smile. How long has it been since you smiled? You don’t need to show it to anyone, you have shown it to yourself, you are a warrior giving one of your best fights, you resign yourself not to die, this is for the brave, a few more stumbles, ridicule from the usual suspects, reality takes care of putting you on the uphill, you lay it on yourself, it is difficult, but you already did not renounce yourself, that is a fact, you look back, you’ve come a long way to collapse here, now you have reasons to continue, you cannot fail all of them, the who you love and who want to see you happy, but above all, you cannot fail yourself, you told yourself this once when things were difficult, you are a warrior for life, and you clench your teeth against the shame, sometimes you say horrible things, you are implacable in front of yourself, other times you feel the proudest in the world, you did not fall in spite of everything, the days move forward, you start to take in the ritual of all this, you no longer turn sour before your reflection, you begin to accept it, you learn things that are new for this context, but not so new for life itself, you relearn to learn, things now are seen in a different nuance and one afternoon with the sun still as company you set the ultimatum, if I do not remake my life by this date then I will not go on with this madness…

Finally you persist, you manage to get past it, that date arrives when you have to make the evaluation of your performance and the smile on your face reveals that you have passed the text with success and excellence, then you do not feel disabled nor incapacitated, nor anything, you are another warrior, ready to face anything.

As for what concerns my case in particular, I suppose that what happened to me was what happens in the majority of serious accidents, I wanted to seek a rapid and simple solution (death), but some provoked me, some very rudely, at least they tried to, and so, clinging to solidarity I kept on until the recovery began to give its first results, now with this background I got it into my head that I could get myself up out of this fall, I remember that the stubbornness and obstinacy played much in my favor, since there were people who did not give a shit about my recovery (including medical specialists), but in the end I would make the best judgment myself, it would only a question of time, I also remember that I went through many embarrassments that I would prefer not to disclose hahaha, and these happened because I went against time in my recovery, I tried to do/practice everything, even without having rehearsed things, and I say that I went against time because I wanted to go into the prison as recovered as possible, I did not want to even think of a prison guard assisting me, I luckily that never happened. After going into the prison on November 22 with a tight stomach and high morale, I prepared to take advantage of this new situation of total confinement to finish with rehabilitating completely, and there was no lack of times when they ridiculed me for my physical condition, but in the face of these situations I bit my tongue and thought that sooner or later they would regret their jokes, because I knew better than anyone that they were spitting at the sky, soon I would be totally recovered and they would not dare to speak to me that way; the time passed, I took my time, I went as slow as a turtle, I exercised every day without a break, whether it was cold or hot, I was disciplined with myself, and it was a question of practice, patience and perseverance (the 3 “P”s like I told you) to find myself totally recovered, and well, here I am, look at me one year after the bombing that almost killed me. Who said that I would bite the mud of humiliation forever? Who said that I would be defeated for the rest of my life? Who said that the struggle does not make us great? If my ideas can bring me to lose my life, they can also bring me to recover it, that was always my gamble, and so I have thrown myself with all my strength into the fight, because I recognize in it the greatness to break the chains, and it is a matter of observing me in the everyday to confirm this assertion, if with telling you that I can even thread a needle, like this, as I am, with 8 of the 10 fingers of my hands, I can tie my shoelaces, cook, wash, make nice origami cubes and if it pleases me I can even carry out all the tasks that I did before, clearly, the only small difference is that it takes me a little longer, but that is such a small detail, so insignificant if you compare with how close I was to death, with what passed over, because after everything I always knew it, for revolutionaries impossibilities do not exist, and my splendid recovery is proof of that.

What matters is to never lose the spirit of struggle, not ever, it does not matter how terrible things look, but while your mind and your heart do not betray you the rest becomes mere detail, our bodies can weaken, it is true, but what makes us great has nothing to do with flesh and bones, what turns us into giants are our convictions, our spirit of knowing that we do what is correct.

Now, I write these lines not only to warn of the awful consequences that revolutionary struggle can bring with it, I also do it to contribute in the creation of new and not so new methods for confronting the difficult journeys that we can carry our decisions along. And And it is that on this occasion I can contribute with some examples, through which I encourage other comrades to share their experiences, since the possibilities of struggle are infinite, madness, rape, exile, mutilation, victory, torture, clandestinity, laughter, imprisonment, pain, betrayal, amnesia, dependency, beatings, humiliation, death, all of these, none, others, and so many more, and how many of the warriors in the street today who fight against power and its designs know this? That is, how prepared are we to assume the costs of the social war if we do not know these kinds of things? Can we speak of not repenting without having all this in consideration? Do we understand the significance of prison? What it brings with it? Or do we comprehend what it carries when a comrade is mad? How far do we understand the consequences of declaring ourselves enemies of the State/Capital?

In a struggle against the system in its totality, we have everything to lose, and do we accept these conditions before we embark on the search for our dreams? I am of the idea of knowing what one is involved in, so as to also know to abide by the consequences, assuming them and coming out gracefully through them, because otherwise what happens is what a dear and close compañera warned of: we turn ourselves into the worst propaganda of struggle.

If we think carefully, it should not surprise us that many comrades of before have chosen self-exile as a response to some of these consequences, and it really very difficult to continue the fight in an area where through the media and socially the system cries for your annihilation, in the end how can one confront the system when it is obsessed with confronting you, having you individualized, located and pointed out? Now, I believe that if it is indeed true that the exile of before served to hide behind the comfort of a normal life, far from the criminalization of revolutionary ideas, today, and with the validity of the proposal of the comrades of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, of arming an International Revolutionary Front, it remains clear that it does not matter whether we find ourselves prisoners, exiles in another region, or clandestine on another continent, the struggle is only one and it surpasses the barriers of nations and borders, because independently of the language we speak or the idiosyncrasies that differentiate us, the struggle continues to be against structures of power, against the values of authority and against the logic of exploitation and domination, bonding us in this way with each and every one of the warriors who fight for the same objective as ourselves: freedom. I recognize myself in the internationalist struggle, since I know first-hand its excellent results, which is why I take advantage of this instance to unite myself to the proposal of the comrades in Greece, embracing the initiative of the FAI/FRI as a project that appeals to the same criteria as I, hoping that this communique can be a true and real contribution, above all for the comrades who live in situations similar to mine and/or to those who in an unwanted future will have to pass through this.

If I am to make a balance of all this, one year after the bombing that almost cost me my life, my result is positive, very positive, and I will not deny that things were difficult, because there were days dark as the depths of the sea, when everything was crumbling around me, my life as I had constructed it went to shit, but this helped me, with the pain caused, to learn that all this I had built I had not made sufficiently solidly as to endure the praxis of my discourse, if family, friends, comrades and lovers took off flying away from my side, to speak much more profoundly than just physically, to see myself in this situation where many thought that it would be better for me to just sink alone before I would take more people down with me, since they believe that I would never get back up from this, if all these people underestimated me because in their smallness they thought that they themselves wouldn’t be able to stand such a fall as mine, today they are not at my side, it is only for their mediocrity, because know this: I do not lack the affection to forgive them, after everything, not one of us was prepared for this. But for all the rudeness of my words and life, there was no lack of gestures of love and absolute dedication, making me know that in spite of everything they were with me, in the good and in the bad, until the end, reaffirming bonds already forged, perhaps only with incredulous gazes of companionship, with one or another conversation walking around the block, sharing a snack or fraternally criticizing each other on the bench of a plaza.

Power wanted me out of the fight, they wanted to suspend me eternally in June 1st 2011, and they even try to do it today, it is something to observe why I am known and where I find myself, but for me none of this is over, I will continue, I will get up, I will show my claws again and I will keep fighting, confronting the enemy constantly, as in my best times, because I am not a warrior who must be remembered with longing, I am another companion, another one of the pack, only in the bowels of the prison beast, all that differentiates me from the companions in the street is the situation that we face, but if you are able to risk your freedom and even life in the struggle that bonds us, why should it be different for me? One year after the failed attack on the Santander bank branch, I have raised myself with ferocity, I won, even though I sit on the bench of the accused, because I knew to take the reigns of my life with my own hands, I triumphed in the face of the life of commerce that they want to impose on us and in the face of death as the only exit, but this victory is not only mine, what arrogance it would be on my part to believe so, because if it were not for the bold comrades who dared to send me their encouragement and care, know this for certain that today I would not be writing these lines, and so, we, the combatants of the new urban guerrilla, are their defeat.

To all those beautiful people who understand that the social war is much more than bombs, bullets and benzine, and who know that solidarity is much more than a hobby to invest your free time in, to all those who cannot pacify their dreaming while they know that one of their own is suffering, to those who if they did not have the free time kept looking for it, skipping work or class because they know that it depended on them to raise a comrade’s morale, to all those who took on the fun and exciting adventure of conquering freedom, to the comrades of the FAI/FRI, to my dear friend Reyhard Rumbayan (Eat), who with his noble gestures has brought me strength when I was weak, to all those absolved of the bombs case frame-up, whose freedom meant a smile for me when it seemed it would be a torment, to the comrades of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, who with their dignity motivate me to continue fighting, to Gabriel Pombo da Silva, Marco Camenisch, and to all the comrades investigated and arrested in the repressive raid against the anarchist movement in Italy, to Mauri who taught me that a wolf clenches his jaw even after death, to the autonomous collectives who attack with decisiveness, to the companions who are clandestine, exiled or hostage, to the brave solidarians, to the conscious rebels, to all of you I dedicate these lines, I send you a warm embrace and I owe you the determination of keeping me alive, because you have to know, you were oxygen when there was none.

Because when you shouted “strength compañero“ I felt stronger than ever! Because neither prison nor agony nor death will detain us! Long live the International Revolutionary Front! Long live the Informal Anarchist Federation! Death to the State! The struggle continues! Toward victory, always!

“I want to live among people who are conscious that we live in a war. A war against life, against the spirit. I want to live among people who don’t look down at their feet, or won’t look you in the eyes when you speak of struggle or insurrection, because In their heart they know they have surrendered, and because—maybe, just maybe—they never really hated the system. Among people who have not been bought, who did not take the pills they were offered, because they preferred to struggle with their feeling of pathologized anxiety than to live in the dead zone. People who don’t pretend to be struggling when it is obvious that what they are doing is turning a battlefield into a garden. I want to be in a place where the war is admissible.”

—anonymous Spanish poet

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Guerrilla News does not necessarily condone or agree with everything posted on this site. We do not endorse or engage in any of the dumb and dangerous activities documented herein. As middle-class beneficiaries of capitalist iniquity, we have no incentive to contest the structures that guarantee our special privileges, nor do we ever do so—just ask our colleagues. We're so busy cashing in on others' insurgency that we wouldn't have time to participate even if we wanted to—honest, officer!

[Noticias de la Guerra Social] In the early hours of Wednesday, April 27, 2016, at about 2am an anonymous shadow approached and left an incendiary device in the doorway of the Circle of retired prison officers located at José Toribio … Continue reading →

translation received anonymously: Translator’s note: This sabotage took place during the ongoing movement against the “loi Travail” (the work act). The university of Tolbiac is on the frontline of this struggle in Paris. This rampage was commented in the bourgeois … Continue reading →

(WOS note: Here are links to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd communiques of the new phase of ITS.) from Maldición Eco-extremista, translated by “Chahta-Ima”: “ITS is in Argentina” That was part of the message that we left along with an … Continue reading →

from Maldición Eco-extremista: Merely being an eco-extremist propagandist, I am forced to pay attention to reactions of anarchist and leftist readers to the actions of ITS and other eco-extremist groups. The first reaction I encounter is usually one of disgust. … Continue reading →

(WOS Note: Here are the first and second communiques of the new phase of Individualists Tending toward the Wild (ITS), both in Mexico. This translation by “Chahta-Ima” with some edits.) From maldicionecoextremista: We are curare arrows of the ancients against … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, translated wos: During the night between the 19th and 20th of November we placed an incendiary device on a lateral conductor on the tracks of the Turín-Milán line. Onward with the sabotage of the tentacles of the system! … Continue reading →

From Contrainfo, translation WOS: Communique received February 11, 2016 Below we leave some words from anarchist compañera Mónica Caballero in relation to the logic and functioning of the respect unit (m-R) in multiple prisons in the Spanish State. With the … Continue reading →

Text from Contrainfo, translation WOS; also see this report from the press: Santiago, Chile, February 11, 2016 On February 11, we headed for the intersection of Pedro Lagos and Arturo Prat, where the Chilean gendarmerie have their Center for Social … Continue reading →

we receive and publish an extract from an article about the attack, followed by a translation of the communique claiming the attack: In the fourth anti-GMO terrorist event in Latin America this year, the Mexico-based organization Alianza Pro Transgenicos (Alliance … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, transl. waronsociety: The reasons to act, motivations, and urgencies remain. Also in many the excuses to not do it remain. We will always consciously choose the first option. Saturday, July 4, minutes before the “copa américa” began, which … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, transl waronsociety: Chikomoztoc, July 3, 2015. “But how can we pretend that one dies in time who has never lived in time? It would be better if they had not been born. This is what Nature desires for … Continue reading →

from refractario, transl. waronsociety: Claudio Lavazza’s contribution to the “Days of Resistance and Solidarity” held March 26-28 in Athens organized by the Assembly of Solidarity with Political Prisoners and Imprisoned and Accused Fighters. The compañero remains imprisoned in the dungeons … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, transl waronsociety: Chikomoztok, July 8, 2015 The company ICA (Civil and Associated Engineers) is the giant of infrastructure in Mexico. The construction of freeways, urban complexes, hydroelectric plants, airports, refineries, metro stations and more, are the areas that … Continue reading →

translation we receive and publish (original is at contrainfo [pdf]): Pachuca, Hidalgo, November 13 2014. With this statement, some groupuscules of “Wild Reaction” (RS), will respond to the text “Some ideas about the present and the future” from “Ediciones Isumatag” … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, transl waronsociety: 1st Message: Declaration of Permanent War Everyone get out! “Bakunin said that revolutions are three quarters fantasy and a quarter reality. The important thing is realizing where the fantasy that leads to the explosion of generalized … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, translated by waronsociety: Don’t vote them in, kick them out! “As writers of an essay of political philosophy, the Invisible Committee affects a strong contempt for speculation and a marked penchant for practice. And this is good, above … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, translated by waronsociety: Several months ago, the communication media falsely attributed to us a series of attacks on various targets in different parts of the Mexican republic, for which reason we want to present the following: 1. The … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, transl waronsociety: At almost two months into the liquid hunger strike of compañerxs Juan Flores, Nataly Casanova, and Guillermo Durán, today [June 5th] one of the most important demands was achieved: compañero Enrique Gúzman was moved from prison … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, translated by waronsociety: In the morning of April 14 of this year, we left a book-bomb in the facilities of the University of Mexico Valley (UVM), on its Coacalco campus in Mexico State. The explosive was addressed to … Continue reading →

from contrainfo, translated by waronsociety: The morning of May 14 of this year, we prepared a fire extinguisher full of dynamite, black powder and phosphorous powder with a homemade slow-fuse detonator. We abandonded it on the outskirts of the Cuautitlán campus … Continue reading →

But it’s not anymore. Three years to the day of the first post to This Is Our Job, I’ve decided to end this particular anarchist project in order to devote myself to other anarchist projects. Primarily, I want more time … Continue reading →

As we’ve already stated, the police will be attacked, whether with bullets, fire, or explosives. We call the things we do by their names, and we want our comrades to do the same. We’re not going to say we’re carrying … Continue reading →

On Tuesday, October 2, the sentences were announced in the second trial of the Fire Cells Conspiracy Revolutionary Organization. The trial began in December 2011 and dealt with three bombings carried out by the Fire Cells Conspiracy in 2009: at … Continue reading →

Operation Ardire prisoner Giulia Marziale has just released two fascinating communiqués about the ludicrousness of the charges against her and about the hypocrisy of people who sympathize with political dissidents elsewhere while condemning those in their own backyard.

From Liberación Total (September 14, 2012): CLAIM FOR REVOLUTIONARY CRIMINAL ATTACK ON LA FLORIDA PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE We attacked the Southern Prosecutor’s Office because it symbolizes law enforcement. From there, people are sent to prison. People are sentenced for crimes and … Continue reading →

Wednesday, September 5 The four Fire Cells Conspiracy members refused to attend this trial session, thereby showing their opposition to the vindictive transfers imposed on them during the summer, as they were brought back to Korydallos Prison in Athens just … Continue reading →

In this most recent letter from Stefano Gabriele Fosco, who ran the Culmine blog before he was arrested in the context of Operation Ardire, he fires back at those who have been criticizing anarchist prisoners for using elements of the … Continue reading →

New video from the fierce riot that “exploded” in Athens on December 6, 2016, commemorating the 8th year since 15 years old Alexis Grigoropoulos murder in cold blood by a policeman in the Exarcheia neighborhood of Athens, on December 6, … Continue reading →

[update]Aachen: the comrade is spoken free Posted on 2016/12/08 On the 8th of December the court acquitted the comrade from Amsterdam accused of a bank robbery of 2013 in Aachen. Over 60 people were present in court, to show their … Continue reading →

At the ‘St.Johann’ station, about a dozen windows of the customs building will have to be replaced (panes broken). The remaining part will need to be cleaned due to inscriptions “Stop deportation! Smash the State!” The windows of the distributor … Continue reading →

RESIST THE NANO WORLD Meeting and talk with comrades Silvia Guerini and Costantino Ragusa of the radical Eco paper ‘L’urlo della Terra’. Analysis and critique concerning nanotechnologies, biotechnologies and how the convergence of sciences, between nocivities and the dominion of … Continue reading →

From the local media we learn that on 28th November an unexploded homemade device was found near a Poste Italiane agency in the Turin neighbourhood of Vallette; a thermos filled with gunpowder and linked to a timer had been placed … Continue reading →

At 6am on 29th November the digos of Turin notify 9 eviction notices and carry out four arrests. The charges relate to the resistance staged during an anti-eviction picket on 2nd May. The accusations are: aggravated bodily harm in collusion … Continue reading →

Update on the trial against me concerning article 414 of the penal code Predictably they sentenced me to 14 months due to the written piece that I put out following the dissociation of a few ambiguous persons. The charge is … Continue reading →

PDF INTRODUCTORY NOTE The “publication of tear down bastille” is in the frames of the functioning of the Solidarity fund for imprisoned and prosecuted fighters and is distributed in- side, as well as outside the walls. The main activity of … Continue reading →

The court of Aachen has set the dates for the start of the trial against the two comrades from Barcelona accused of expropriating a branch of Pax-Bank in Aachen in November of 2014. The court case will start on the … Continue reading →

A Christmas present for the cops In remembrance of Alexis who was murdered by the cops in Athens 8 years ago we have visited the friends of his murderers in the immediate vicinity of the Alexanderplatz and left 10 liters of petrol as a gift at the entrance door. The solidarity of this action also […]

On November 21st, after a nine-month postponement, my trial commences at the court of appeal. It’s been two years since the completion of my trial at the court of first instance, when I was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for the charges of common complicity to homicide and robbery in connection with the events on […]

– 08/12/2016 According to RadioAzione and the Anarchist Black Cross in Italy, comrade Valentina Speziale had their request for house arrest rejected. Solidarity with the detained comrades. – 05/12/2016 In his letter the anarchist comrade Daniele Cortelli informs us about the transfer of another comrade, Danilo Cremonese, to Ferrara prison, on November 23th. […]

“CLASS WAR hit watermain outside Foxtons Islington… and flood Boris Home in COLBROKE ROW……………. WE SAID WE’D BE BACK!” Class War London opened up a water main outside gated estate agents Foxtons, which flooded dozens of expensive multi-million pound homes in a posh area. 100s of people had to be evacuated and the cost of […]

Translation note: This issue of “Tear down the Bastille, voices from inside the walls” was published in Greece in April 2016 and its theme was hunger strike as a means of struggle. Translated to English and Contributions by some anarchist comrades and Act for freedom now! via actforfree.

**UPDATE** via Kurdish Question People’s Protection Units (YPG) volunteers, American Michael Israel (27) from Colorado and German Anton Neshek (Zana Ciwan), were killed by Turkish warplanes on 29 November according to another international volunteer fighting alongside the pair against the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS/ISIL), north of Raqqa. [updated]. On his […]

“The big city also has a massive concentration of attack targets. (…) A few combatants can put large contingents of enemy forces in check by means of appropriate actions, the guerrilla must make it very clear that their attacks are directed in principle against all institutions of the enemy class, against all administrative positions, police […]

Dear all, In the end of November of 2016 we had the opportunity of recording a presentation in Berlin by the Anarchist Black Cross in Czech Republic on the topic of Operation Fenix. The talk comprised the following topics: a short review of what had happened, the use of the term „terrorism“, the topic of […]

Aachen: 1/12 update and announcement of date of the verdict Today, 1/12 was the final day of trial for the presentation of the evidence for or against the comrade from Amsterdam accused by the prosecution of Aachen of a bank robbery that took place in July 2013 in the same city. This means that on […]

What is so special about this site? I have a text I’d like to see in the library. May I submit it? I uploaded something, but you censored me! What about my zine? What about my scans? Hey, you started without me. Can I join you? What about support for other languages? Tell us about your technology. Why don […]

An update from the Anarchist Library: Fall 2015 Getting old? or just the weather... Languages: Social Media: Mirrors: How to help: The Libraries: October 4, 2014: a shiny new library April 2014 December 2013 update (2) The bright side The dark side December 2013 update October 6th, 2015 An u […]

The torrent Search plugin for [[http://calibre-ebook.com/][Calibre]] Code The torrent A torrent release is available here (January 22, 2016) It ships the CD/DVD images with the full archive of this site and of its sister sites: Anarchistische Bibliothek Anarhistička biblioteka Anarkistinen kirjasto Библиотека Анархизма La Biblioteca Anarqui […]

We’ve closed down the Jabber server and have moved back to Internet Relay Chat (IRC). The chat is now hosted on the servers run by Freenode. You can access it by using your preferred IRC client and pointing it to: server: chat.freenode.net channel: #anarchistlibrary Please see http://freenode.net/irc_servers.shtml for some helpful information about accessing […]

Introduction Installation Essentials Full-featured installation (PDF) Introduction The texts stored on the libraries are formatted with a dialect of the Emacs Muse markup, which is described in deep details in the manual. The files are pure plain text (with the popular and ubiquitous UTF-8 encoding), and you can edit them with any […]

Announcing the Anarchist Library in the Danish language! Det Anarkistiske Bibliotek You can still find all of the libraries on torrent here, along with the magnet link. The previous announcements are located over on the wiki.

Author: Rudolf RockerTitle: Nationalism and CultureDate: 1933Notes: Black Rose Books. (book two is missing a few chapters at the end, incomplete upload for the moment)Source: Retrieved on November 25th, 2016 from https://libcom.org/library/nationalism-culture-rudolf-rocker

I'm sure some do, but I don't in principle. Like a lot of social relationships, the relationship between yourself and a therapist has to be evaluated on a case by case basis, and the only person who is responsible for that evaluation is the one on the receiving end - only you can tell whether your mental health carers are dominating you, and really […]

I once went to a bookfair with a workshop on anarchist films, but I didn't go to it cuz i can only tolerate a certain number of workshops. Of course, there are problems that anarchists would have with motion pictures (chiefly the technology involved and how easily they seem to manipulate people), but I'm curious about what they have done with film […]

In over ten years of my routinely asking people if they know the simple distinction between a democracy and a lynch mob nobody has answered correctly and over half have confided that they are suspicious of the dictionary and sometimes prefer to make up their own definitions despite almost every one of them being clueless that the common dictionary merely con […]

Whilst searching for a mathematical short-cut, the conservative German physicist Max Planck begged his colleges to please explain the joke complaining that a sense of humor was never amongst his list of job requirements. What he could not have known with any certainty, but must have suspected, was that this particular shortcut would haunt the modern sciences […]

I define racism as the belief that human worth is inheritable. There is a connection with anarchy, imo, that makes this question relevant to this forum and especially so right now given the racial tension underlying the US election. Here's how I break it down: the "-ism" kind of means we're dealing with a belief. "Race" is purel […]

First, it would depend on whether or not the loved one in question desires to be cured and whether or not they would accept that cure.Second, if they desired it, I'd probably use it without any justification at all. To whom and where ought I address my justification? That said, the world is already full of oft-used technologies begotten via nefarious me […]

safety is another one of those words. lots of baggage, not necessarily a lot of clarity.ultimately, we are all responsible for our own safety all the time. that can mean things like eating good food, having strong social ties, having a place to sleep, fighting against things that hurt us, understanding what we want from relationships and learning how to get […]

There are certainly overlaps between individualist anarchism and anti-civ, and there are also overlaps between what could broadly be called social anarchism and anti-civ anarchism. You are correct that these lines are not particularly easily defined, but I will see if I can try to suss out somethging more specific.Many current North American individualist an […]

Unpopular Opinion™: I like technology. I guess I'm just going to be posting an answer that is somewhat off-topic, but it annoys me on a personal level how taken for granted it is that anarchists dislike technology - even if there is a pretty large grain of truth to this, it doesn't hold in all cases. I don't really care for anarcho-transhumani […]

hi sourkraut, welcome to 101.who is "we" in your question? in an anarchist situation, the governmental (or corporate) bodies that accepted the deal (that includes the debt) would no longer exist.your question definitely points to one (of many) reasons why an anarchist society would have a hard time in this world--every institution that benefits fro […]

while ingrate's answer is very in line with most of the folks on this site, the question as it stands, "does organizing in any sense interest anarchists" has the obvious answer of yes for most anarchists. the vast majority of anarchists believe in encouraging people to act and think differently, and in particular ways. more of an answer would […]

It seems to me that identity is most often approached as something internal to, caused by, someone by proponents and critics of identity politics alike. To me identity is more an issue of context than anything particularly causal. First off, we currently speak languages concomitantly arising/evolving with habitats we call ‘mass-society’ wherein any degree of […]

From what I've read it sounds like they did not have a great deal, and what they did have came from friends/family. Certainly they never made much off their writing or films - I think it would be a mistake to think that they must be well off based on how they're dressed in photos. The current uniform for the young and underemployed did not exist ye […]

Ni Dieu Ni Maitre >>>>> religion(s) is commonly associated with a hierarchical belief ... a hierarchicial belief attended by complimentary ideas is at the core of all religion ... these beliefs and attendant ideas comprise a structure that one is extrinsically conditioned to spiritually accept ... these beliefs exist as a thesis ... uncritica […]

you are nowhere ... you are nowhere because you are trying to locate/create that idealistic somewhere that structured information prophecizes is attainable .. that prophecy is the structural lie that welds the masses with hope ... the hope that you (all) are placeable within the structure's system is no different than the hope that the structure gives […]

when money is a means and not an end to a philosophical position it serves a valid purpose ... $$$ used in anti capitalist anti statist ways should be the defining arbiter of any individual commitment to freedom ... freedom by nature does not entail security ($$$) ... the system must be manipulated before it can be weakened and dismantled ... the best mean […]